You may have been munching mince pies over the holidays, but the police were working hard… including at London’s Southwark Playhouse where director Andy Jordan has been preparing his four-strong cast of COPS for their UK premiere. Check out our gallery of rehearsal photos – including an astonishingly adorable puppy! – and then get booking!
COPS, written by former American serviceman Tony Tortora and directed by Andy Jordan, runs at London’s Southwark Playhouse from 15 January to 1 February 2020, with a press night – including post-show Q&A chaired by Mates founder Terri Paddock – on Friday 17 January.
Terri Paddock chairs a post-show talk at COPS on 17 January 2020. Click to book!
Chicago. 1957. Four cops, of different ages, classes and races, all suspicious of each other, must grab a gangster turned state witness before the Mob can get him.
Outside their office, the world is changing. The Civil Rights movement. Race riots. Mass consumerism. Rock ‘n’ Roll. Elvis has arrived. Sex is everywhere.
COPS was inspired by real-life events in the often brutal and corrupt world of 1950s Chicago policing and mob violence. With wit, humour and razor-sharp, fast-moving dialogue, this emotionally powerful and poignant new play movingly reveals the men’s personal stories.
As much comedy as it is drama, with wonderfully written characters, razor-sharp, witty banter, authentic spiky dialogue, and explosive scenes of emotional power and soul-baring poignancy, COPS examines masculinity and racism whilst offering a touching message about how love conquers all and blood being thicker than water.
Writer Tony Tortora is originally from Brooklyn but now lives in Harrogate, England. The first few lines of COPS sprang into his mind while reading an account of a real-life 1950s Chicago criminal case. While the cops are fictional, the gangsters’ names are all taken from their real-life counterparts.
Rehearsal photos
COPS stars Roger Alborough, Jack Flammiger, Daniel Francis and James Sobol Kelly. Photography by Ikin Yum.
Happy New Year from the #COPSSwkPlay company. May the coming days, year, and decade bring you much joy. Here’s a fifties shot of people celebrating New Year’s at W. Randolph & N. State Streets in Chicago to get you in the spirit. @swkplay @KevinWilsonPR pic.twitter.com/oc0aGzcBKi
— COPS (@CopsSwk) January 1, 2020
